Week of November 15–21, 2021

President Biden has dismissed the idea of paying $450,000 to family members separated at the US border. However, economists have a solution to settle the lawsuit: selling immigration slots. By auctioning immigration spots, Congress could select successful immigrants who could immediately contribute to the US’s economic success. The U.S. could charge $80,000 for each green card and at current immigration levels, bring in a total of $67bn, which would be enough to pay all 5,500 separated family members a settlement and have $60bn left over. The visa sale option would select more talented workers who can pay the cost. Companies could also step in to pay for visas or offset some of the costs. The funds generated could be used to help struggling economic areas and fund retraining programs for those left behind by globalization.

The Governor’s Office for Immigrant Affairs has been established in Maryland to help provide career placements, English language classes and naturalisation procedures for foreign-born Marylanders, who make up 15% of the population. The office was established by bills SB85 and HB15, which mandate that administrators form a network of existing immigrant advocacy groups to share resources, pass along information about government programs and advise the governor. The office is also required to set up a multilingual hotline and website to help people find services, as well as to report fraud and crimes against immigrants, which are forwarded to police authorities. Lorena Rivera has been appointed as the director of the new office, which is housed under the Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives.

The US government has suspended the entry of Nicaraguan government officials, including President Daniel Ortega, Vice President Rosario Murillo and their associates into the United States, as both immigrants and nonimmigrants. This comes after the US government deemed their policies and actions as undermining or injuring democratic institutions or impeding the return to democracy in Nicaragua. The Nicaraguan presidential and legislative elections, which took place in November 2021, were marred by the crackdown on opposition leaders, civil society leaders and journalists by the Ortega government. The government's actions have been undemocratic, authoritarian and have stripped Nicaraguan citizens of their right to choose their leaders in free and fair elections. Additionally, the government's detention and denial of fair trial guarantees to peaceful protesters, civil society leaders, private sector leaders, student leaders, political leaders, journalists and presidential candidates has stifled political discourse and the democratic process. The physical and psychological abuse of political prisoners at the hands of police and prison authorities has also been reported. The suspension of entry is aimed at protecting democratic processes and institutions in Nicaragua.

The backlog of immigration cases in the US has increased to almost 1.5 million in the last nine months, according to data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) of Syracuse University. Although 21,000 cases have been resolved this year, almost 50,000 new cases have been added to court dockets in the same period. The total backlog continues to grow each month. The largest number of pending cases was in Texas, followed by California, New York, and Florida. The average length of wait for pending cases among those states for which data was available was 933 days, with Virginia and Colorado recording the longest waits. The backlog has grown from just over 600,000 cases in 2017 to over one million in 2019, and has been on a sharp upswing since then.

The US Department of Homeland Security has stopped the practice of releasing migrants into the country with only a notice to report to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, according to Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The move follows the earlier practice of releasing some migrants into the US with only a notice to report, which drew criticism from Republicans who argued the administration did not know the whereabouts of those released. Going forward, migrants will likely receive notices to appear at immigration court, as has traditionally been the case. However, US immigration officials have also begun sending packets to migrants who have undergone ad hoc processing. The packets are expected to include a "notice to appear" and additional information about ICE processing, but advocates and attorneys worry the packets may not reach the migrants and could put them at risk of missing court dates.

As the US Democrat party’s push to pass sweeping social spending legislation that includes permanent protections for undocumented immigrants falters, some political analysts see an opportunity for Republican lawmakers to step in and expand upon significant gains the party made with Latino voters in the 2020 election. With the midterm elections looming, such efforts could prove critical to growing Republican support among moderates who want to see immigration solutions in battleground states with significant Latino voting populations, such as Florida. Republicans see those voters as being receptive to the party’s messaging on security and business opportunities. Polling has shown protections for certain categories of undocumented immigrants are popular among voters in key battleground states.

The UK's points-based immigration system is set to change in Spring 2022, with new visa routes and changes to support highly skilled people to work in the UK and inward investment. The new routes include Scale-Up visas for rapid growth companies, with high-skilled job offers and salaries of £33,000 and over. This is a fast-track process for applicants who pass an English language test. The High Potential Individual visa is for high potential graduates of top global universities, enabling them to relocate to the UK without a job and obtain settlement in the UK. The Global Mobility visa allows innovative overseas companies greater flexibility to transfer workers to the UK to establish and expand their businesses. An Innovator visa and a Global Talent Network will also be introduced. UK employers must note changes to non-UK employees travelling to the UK and prepare for a universal permission to travel system similar to the ESTA.

The House of Representatives passed legislation that, if enacted, would offer sweeping protections for millions of undocumented immigrants, marking the first time since the Reagan administration that Congress has protected such a large section of the undocumented population. However, it falls short of calls for a path to citizenship, and its immigration provisions now face a tough passage in the Senate. The bill's Judiciary Committee provisions, which mostly fund immigration protections, would increase "on-budget" deficit costs by $121.7bn over the next decade, roughly $14bn more than was allotted for those measures. Senate Democrats have yet to present the “parole” option to the Senate Parliamentarian, who has already rejected two previous proposals to include a path to citizenship in the bill.

Restrictive Trump-era immigration policies are contributing to the US labor shortage, with an estimated 2 million of the 3 million missing workers being immigrants who have been prevented from entering the country, according to a Vox investigation. Trump's immigration policies saw net international migration decline from 2017 to 2020. The construction, transportation, accommodation and hospitality sectors are among those most affected by labor shortages, and would have benefited from immigrant workers had restrictions not been in place, the report said. Record numbers of people are quitting their jobs, with 4.4 million people voluntarily leaving their jobs in September 2021, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, resulting in supply-chain issues and inflation.

An immigration adviser has been ordered to pay almost $26,000 in penalties and compensation by the Immigration Advisers Authority complaints and disciplinary tribunal for giving dishonest information to Immigration New Zealand and leaving a couple unlawfully in the country. The adviser, Apurva Khetarpal, lied to her client and did not tell them that their visa application had been declined, as well as causing the client's husband to sign a false statement which was then used in a request for ministerial intervention. The tribunal has ruled that Khetarpal is unfit to be a member of the profession and should not be allowed to apply for a license to practice for a maximum period of two years. The tribunal also awarded general damages of $5,000 for inconvenience, anxiety and distress caused to the couple.